Determining and sharing proximity of device users among separated observation platforms

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are disclosed for sending information in an observation platform. A determination is made, at an observation platform, that a first communication device associated with a first user is located in an environment. A determination is made, at the observation platform, that the first communication device is located in proximity to a second communication device associated with a second user. Speech information is sent to the first communication device for the first user to use in communicating with the second user.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of and claims the benefitof and claims priority to co-pending patent application, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/896,037, Attorney Docket Number PING-010.CON4,entitled “OBSERVATION PLATFORM FOR DETERMINING PROXIMITY OF USERDEVICES,” with filing date Jun. 8, 2020, which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety.

The application with Ser. No. 16/896,037 is a continuation applicationof and claims the benefit of and claims priority to co-pending patentapplication, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/420,779, AttorneyDocket Number PING-010.CON3, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,699,313, entitled“OBSERVATION PLATFORM FOR PERFORMING STRUCTURED COMMUNICATIONS,” withfiling date May 23, 2019, which is herein incorporated by reference inits entirety.

The application with Ser. No. 16/420,779 is a continuation applicationof and claims the benefit of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/908,234, Attorney Docket Number PING-010.CON2,now U.S. Pat. No. 10,304,094, entitled “OBSERVATION PLATFORM FORPERFORMING STRUCTURED COMMUNICATIONS,” with filing date Feb. 28, 2018,which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The application with Ser. No. 15/908,234 is a continuation applicationof and claims the benefit of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/375,725, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,928,529, AttorneyDocket Number PING-010.CON1, entitled “OBSERVATION PLATFORM FORPERFORMING STRUCTURED COMMUNICATIONS,” with filing date Dec. 12, 2016,which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The application with Ser. No. 15/375,725 is a continuation applicationof and claims the benefit of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/320,356, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,542,695, AttorneyDocket Number PING-010, entitled “OBSERVATION PLATFORM FOR PERFORMINGSTRUCTURED COMMUNICATIONS,” with filing date Jun. 30, 2014, which isherein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The application with Ser. No. 14/320,356 is a continuation-in-partapplication of and claims the benefit of and claims priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/401,146, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,948,730,Attorney Docket Number PING-003, entitled “OBSERVATION PLATFORM FORUSING STRUCTURED COMMUNICATIONS,” with filing date Feb. 21, 2012, whichis herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The application with Ser. No. 13/401,146 claims priority to theprovisional patent application, Ser. No. 61/445,504, Attorney DocketNumber PING-001.PRO, entitled “ENABLING A RETAIL SALES/SERVICE PROVIDERTO INTERACT WITH ON-PREMISE CUSTOMERS,” with filing date Feb. 22, 2011,which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The application with Ser. No. 13/401,146 also claims priority to theprovisional patent application, Ser. No. 61/487,432, Attorney DocketNumber PING-002. PRO, entitled “ACTIVITY COORDINATING ASSOCIATE'SAUTOMATIC SERVICE ASSISTANT,” with filing date May 18, 2011, which isherein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The application with Ser. No. 14/320,356 is also a continuation-in-partapplication of and claims the benefit of and claims priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/665,527, Attorney Docket Number PING-004,now Abandoned, entitled “OBSERVATION PLATFORM FOR PERFORMING STRUCTUREDCOMMUNICATIONS,” with filing date Oct. 31, 2012, which is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Retailers are under constant pressure to cut costs, improve margins, andincrease floor traffic and customer satisfaction. This has always beenso, but the rise of the internet, available at home and while mobile,has increased the pressure greatly. Loyalty programs and per-customerpricing, such as special discounts, are one set of tools used in thepast, and used more. Moreover, there is an increased demand to manageand train associates and provide an increased measure of customersatisfaction in a retail environment. Such concerns also extend tosituations and environments besides retail settings. Moderncommunication devices provide for many communication and businessanalytics opportunities in retail and other settings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a block diagram of an example environment for anobservation platform for structuring a communication in accordance withembodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram of an example environment for anobservation platform for structuring a communication in accordance withother embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 1C illustrates a block diagram of an example environment for anobservation platform for structuring a communication in accordance withother embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 1D illustrates a block diagram of an example environment for anobservation platform for structuring a communication in accordance withother embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example environment forstructuring communication in an observation platform in accordance withembodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for structuringcommunication in an observation platform in accordance with embodimentsof the present technology.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for discipliningcommunications in accordance with embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for observing andrecording users of communication devices in accordance with embodimentsof the present technology.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for characterizingcommunications in a group of users in accordance with embodiments of thepresent technology.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for structuringcommunication in a plurality of observation platforms in accordance withembodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for performingcommunications in an observation platform in accordance with embodimentsof the present technology.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for performingcommunications in an observation platform in accordance with embodimentsof the present technology.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for performingcommunications in an observation platform in accordance with embodimentsof the present technology.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for performingcommunications in an observation platform in accordance with embodimentsof the present technology.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for performingcommunications in an observation platform in accordance with embodimentsof the present technology.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for sendinginformation and relative proximity information in an observationplatform in accordance with embodiments of the present technology.

The drawings referred to in this description of embodiments should beunderstood as not being drawn to scale except if specifically noted.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the presenttechnology, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. While the technology will be described in conjunction withvarious embodiment(s), it will be understood that they are not intendedto limit the present technology to these embodiments. On the contrary,the present technology is intended to cover alternatives, modificationsand equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope ofthe various embodiments as defined by the appended claims.

Furthermore, in the following description of embodiments, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present technology. However, the present technologymay be practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not beendescribed in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of thepresent embodiments.

Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the followingdiscussions, it is appreciated that throughout the present descriptionof embodiments, discussions utilizing terms such as “receiving,”“recognizing,” “deriving,” “storing,” “relaying,” “executing,”“generating,” “determining,” “tracking,” “recording,” “identifying,”“making,” or the like, refer to the actions and processes of a computersystem, or similar electronic computing device. The computer system orsimilar electronic computing device, such as a telephone, smartphone, orhandheld mobile device, manipulates and transforms data represented asphysical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registersand memories into other data similarly represented as physicalquantities within the computer system memories or registers or othersuch information storage, transmission, or display devices. Embodimentsof the present technology are also well suited to the use of othercomputer systems such as, for example, optical and mechanical computers.

Overview of Using Structured Communications in an Observation Platform

Embodiments of the present technology are for structuring communicationsin an observation platform. The observation platform may involve anumber of users or people and provides structure and disciplinecommunications for the users and captures data regarding thecommunications such as performance metrics. The present technology maybe employed in various environments such as retail settings,public-stage floors, outdoor venues, concerts, police scenarios,disaster areas, schools, sporting events, hospitality operations,security operations, military operations, a prison organization,customer service, manufacturing organization, a factory, and otherenvironments where humans work together and where communications occurbetween users.

Using structuring communications in an observation platform, as referredto herein, may refer to the following actions regarding communicationsbetween two or more users: disciplining, structuring, controlling,participating, discouraging, encouraging, influencing, nudging, makingan example of, permitting, managing, managing to be in compliance withpolicies, measuring what goes on as a communication occurs,characterizing, enabling, observing, recording, correcting, directing,etc.

The structuring or disciplining process envisioned herein involves usinga communications and computer system as a platform to listen to commandsfrom users, interpret those commands, establish two-party and multipartycommunications links, pass on messages, store messages and commands, andpush messages to sales associates thereby permitting an owner or managerof a group of people to observe and analyze the effectiveness thegroup's interactions. In a way, it is like the central nervous system ofan organism, wherein the organism is a group of people.

One purpose of structuring or disciplining a communication is forassociates to become better customer service associates or sales peoplein a retail setting. The present technology may accomplish this goal bydetecting or tracking the associates as well as potential customers suchas shoppers in the retail environment. One technique for the detectingor tracking is to detect and track communication devices associated withthe associates and potential customers. In one embodiment, when apotential customer is within proximity to an associate, the presenttechnology operates to push information, such as speech information, tothe associate. In one embodiment, the information may be used by theassociate to make offers to the potential customer. Thus the presenttechnology may operate to turn the associate into a beacon to makeoffered to the potential customer. The offers may be tailored to thepotential customer for products and/or services.

It should be appreciated that the communication device associated withthe potential customer may or may not be associated with the observationplatform. Particularly, the communication device associated with thepotential customer may or may not contain software that is used inconjunction with the observation platform to structure or disciplinecommunications. The communication devices associated with the potentialcustomer and the associate may be owned by the potential customer, theassociate, the environment associated with the observation platform, ora third party entity. The communication device associated with theassociate may be a wearable device. The speech information pushed to theassociate may result audible speech played by the communication deviceand heard only by the associate and not the potential customer. Thespeech information may also be presented to the associate via othermeans such as a display to display text and images.

Various techniques are used to detect if the communication devices ofthe associate and potential customer are within proximity of oneanother. It should be appreciated that the observation platform maydetect and track several different communication devices including bothdevices associated with associates and potential customers.Alternatively, the device associated with the associate may detect theproximity to the device associated with the potential customer and relaya notification to the observation platform regarding the proximity.

The embodiments described herein for detecting two devices in proximityto one another may also be combined with the other embodiments describedherein for structuring and disciplining communications between devices.For example, context information may be derived via the observationplatform from communications sent by a device. The context informationmay be used to relay the communications to a proper destination and alsoused to provide information to a device associated with an associatethat is in proximity to a device associated with a potential customer.

The present technology may also monitor communications of the users thatoccur via communication devices. The communications may be monitored toderive context information from the communication such as the name ofthe user, geographic location of a user, the state or status of the user(e.g., busy, available, engaged, conversing, listening, out-of-range,not logged on, etc.), business metrics regarding the user's interactionwith others, and commands from the user. The communications may bemonitored by a computer system associated with a radio base station thatacts as a central hub for the user communications. The computer systemmay convert audible, voice or speech communications to a text ormachine-compatible format using standard and well-known techniques. Thetext may be used to derive the context information from thecommunication. The computer system may also store some or all of thecommunication including the time and geographic location of the device,the audible portion of the communication and the text format of thecommunication. The structured communications may extend beyond a singlevenue to multiple venues or storage locations without regard togeographic location. Customers or users may refer to customers who arepurchasing items in an environment, past customers, potential customers,perspective customers, shoppers, browsers, or others who enter theenvironment and do not represent the environment in an official capacitysuch as an employee does.

In one embodiment, the computer system uses the derived contextinformation to determine a destination of the communication and forwardsor relays the communication to the destination. For example, a firstuser may attempt to contact a second user via communication devices. Thefirst user sends the communication to the computer system associatedwith the radio base station. The computer system recognizes the firstuser and is able to derive context information regarding thecommunication and determine that the communication's destination is athird user. The computer system then relays the communication, via theradio base station, to a communication device associated with the thirduser. The computer system may also convert the communication to text andderive contextual or performance metrics regarding the first or thirduser. For example, the first user may be an associate in a retailsetting and the third user is a customer. The first user may beresponding to a query made by the third user. The performance metric maybe the length of time it took for the first user to respond to the queryor may be whether or not the query was satisfied or may be a differentmetric entirely. The computer system may derive and store more than oneperformance metric. The computer system may also access more than onecommunication regarding a user to determine some metrics.

In one embodiment, the computer system is able to determine the state ofthe user based on either direct user action such as a button press orvoice command; or based on inference from words being spoken, motions,locations or other contextual information. In one embodiment, the thirduser may be out of range of the radio base station and sendscommunications via a network associated with the computer system. In oneembodiment, the third user may be part of a similar operation to that inFIG. 1A, i.e., another retail outlet or corporate headquarters for thesame company in a different location as shown in FIG. 1C.

In one embodiment, the computer system is able to determine geographiclocations of users based on information received from communicationdevices associated with the users. The geographic location data may bestored as data associated with a user's communications device at aparticular time, or as a performance metric, or may be combined withother information to generate a performance metric. The geographicinformation may also be used by managers to manage or train associatesor to optimize customer service.

A user, as referred to herein, may be a person or people such as,associates, employees, managers, trainees, trainers, customers,emergency responders, personnel, etc. In one embodiment, the userinterfaces with a device for communications with other users. Such adevice may be a handheld device, a headset, a smartphone, an earpiece, aradio, a computer system, or other device capable of providingcommunications between users. Such users may be external to theoperating entity and desire access via smart devices or applications.

A performance metric may also be a metric, a key performance metric or abusiness metric. A metric or performance metric as referred to hereinmay be any type of data associated with or derived from a communicationbetween users, including the location of the communications device, orthe words spoken and the contextual state at the time of a particularcommunication event. In one embodiment, the computer system is able togenerate a visual representation of metrics. For example, the visualrepresentation may be a map of the geographic location of the users inan environment or may visual demonstrate the availability status of auser. In another example, the visual representation may be textualinformation such as the number of communications sent by a user or thelength of time it took for a user to respond to a communication. Theperformance metrics may be sent or displayed to a manager or other userfor use in making decisions. The performance metrics may be used by themanager to optimize customer service in a retail setting by takingactions such as reprimanding or rewarding an associate or noticing thatno associates are located near a group of customers. Performance metricsmay also generate real-time alarms or notifications that action orcoordination is needed.

The present technology provides for many examples of how structuringcommunications may be used in various environments for a variety ofpurposes. The following discussion will demonstrate various hardware,software, and firmware components that are used with and in computersystems and other user devices for structuring communications usingvarious embodiments of the present technology. Furthermore, the systems,platforms, and methods may include some, all, or none of the hardware,software, and firmware components discussed below.

Observation Platform for Using a Structured Communications

With reference now to FIG. 1A, a block diagram of an environment 100 forstructuring communications in an observation platform. Environment 100includes devices 105, 110 and 130, radio base station 115, computer 120,database 125 and network 135. Environment 100 comprises components thatmay or may not be used with different embodiments of the presenttechnology and should not be construed to limit the present technology.Some or all of the components of environment 100 may be described as anobservation platform for structuring a communication.

The present technology makes use of communication devices. Radio basestation 115 and devices 105, 110 and 130 may also be described ascommunication devices. Devices 105, 110 and 130 may be user devices thatare mobile and employed by a user to communicate with other users viaother devices. Communications between the devices may be described assignals. The devices 105, 110 and 130 may be a smartphone, a personaldigital assistant, a fob, a handheld device, a headset device or othersmall electronic device. In one embodiment, devices 105, 110 and 130employ speakers and microphones with control buttons for audiblecommunications. The control buttons may be press to signal buttons, pushto talk buttons, volume control buttons, and power on/off buttons orother standard buttons and may be options on a touchscreen. Devices 105,110 and 130 may be handheld, may be worn around the neck, and may be aheadset worn on the head or behind the ear or otherwise interface withthe human body. Devices 105, 110 and 130 may or may not comprise ascreen or display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD). In oneembodiment, devices 105, 110 and 130 do not comprise a display such thata user is not inundated with too many options or too much informationfrom the device. A user device without a display may simplifycommunications and thus allow heads-up awareness and presence in theenvironment. Another user, such as a customer, may be more likely toemploy the device for its intended purpose if the human interface issimplified.

Devices 105, 110 and 130 and other devices in environment 100 may bedispensed to a user upon entering environment 100 or may be brought bythe user into environment 100. For example, in a retail settingassociates may be issued devices by the employer or owner of theretailer setting. Customers in the retail setting may also be issueddevices as they enter the retail setting. Customers may choose whetheror not to accept the device or whether or not to use the device afteraccepting it. The associate devices and the customer devices may or maynot be the same type or model of devices. Alternatively, the customermay bring a device into the retail setting such as a smartphone. Thecustomer may download an app to the smartphone that will allow thecustomer to use the device for communications in the store withassociates or others in accordance with present technology. The customermay remain anonymous or may elect to identify themselves. In oneembodiment, recognition of the customer's identity is not required foradditional services or offers.

Devices 105, 110 and 130 may be low power devices. The devices may usebatteries or solar power including either ambient or battery solar powerin a low duty-cycle manner to save power. In one embodiment, the deviceshave an automatic sleep function when location of the device does notchange and no communications are sent or received after a period oftime.

Radio base station 115 may be a communication device that is capable ofcommunicating with devices 105, 110 and 130. Radio base station maysimply be a component of computer 120 or may be a standalone device thatis coupled with, connect to, or otherwise associated with computer 120.Radio base station 115 and computer 120 may be physically adjacent toone another or may be separated by a distance (e.g., cloud services).Computer 120 is able to instantaneously receive communications fromradio base station 115 and to send communications to radio base station115 for radio base station 115 to transmit the communication to itsdestination. Computer 120 is a computer system with a process and memoryand is capable of executing commands, software and firmware. Computer120 may be a desktop computer, a server computer, a cloud-based computeror other standard computing system or may be custom built for thepresent technology.

Radio base station 115 and devices 105, 110 and 130 employ standardtechniques for communicating wirelessly. The communications may beperformed using radio techniques such as near field communications,short wave radio, infrared, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, standard wireless computernetwork protocols, etc. Devices 105, 110 and 130 may be able tocommunicate with each other directly or through radio base station 115.Devices 105, 110 and 130 communicate with each other via the computersystem 120. In one embodiment, all communications in environment 100 arerelayed through radio base station 115 which acts as a central hub. Forexample, device 105 may communicate with device 110 by device 105sending a communication to radio base station 115, computer 120 derivesthat device 110 is the destination for the communication and relays thecommunication to device 110. This may occur automatically and quicklyenough such that the users will not experience any undue lag incommunications. In one embodiment, devices 105, 110 and 130 maycommunicate directly with computer 120. For example, a user may issue acommand to computer 120 via device 105 or computer 120 may sendinformation to device 105. Information send from computer 120 to device105 may be an audible voice signal or may be textual, contextual,geographical or graphical data to be displayed at device 105 if it isproperly equipped to do so.

In one embodiment, devices 105, 110 and 130 may communicate with oneanother directly, and their signals may be monitored and processed bycomputer system 120 via a monitoring system associated with the radiobase station 115. Instructions or commands may still be directed towardsthe computer system 120.

In one embodiment, computer 120 is able to recognize a user sending acommunication. The user may be recognized based on the device used tosend the communication to computer 120 and radio base station 115. Forexample, device 105 may have a unique signature associated with itstransmissions such that computer 120 can identify differentiate thedevice from another user. Such recognition of a user may then beemployed by computer 120 for future communications with other devices.In one embodiment, the signal or communications between devices areencrypted. The signal may be encoded such that it is unique to aspecific device. The encryption or encoding may be employed by computer120 to recognize the user of the device. In one embodiment, the user mayidentify himself to the computer system 120 and the computer system 120makes the association between user identification and device 105'sinternal electronic identification.

Computer 120 may determine that the destination of a communication is asingle device or a plurality of devices. Thus computer 120 may relay acommunication from device 105 only to device 110 or may relay it to bothdevice 110 and device 130. Computer 120 may determine that another userdevice is the destination of a communication originated by device 105but may also directly respond to the communication by executing acommand or sending a communication back to device 105. In oneembodiment, a communication from device 105 has more than onecharacteristic or aspect. For example, the communication may have afirst characteristic that corresponds to an audible source such thewords spoken by a user employing device 105. The communication may alsocontain contextual information such as engaged, available, listening toinformation, returning to coverage zones, or other behavioral/contextualinformation. The communication may also have a third characteristic thatcomprises geographical position information of device 105 or may haveinformation indicative of a geographic position of device 105. Computer120 is able to determine a geographic position and direction of motionof a device from the information indicative of a geographic position ofdevice. The motion may also be described as path of travel. Acharacteristic of the communication may be a portion of thecommunication, data associated with the communication, attributes of thecommunication, or metadata regarding the communication.

In one embodiment, computer 120 comprises a storage medium for storingsome or all of a communication. Computer 120 may store allcommunications between devices in environment 100. Computer 120 maystore communications for a pre-determined amount of time. Differentcharacteristics of the communication may be stored including portions ofthe communication itself. Additionally, the computer may request andstore all audible information regardless if the user presses a push totalk button or otherwise signals the need to begin a communication. Forexample, the communication may comprise an audible portion, a textportion, information indicative of a geographical position, and ageographical data portion. The audible portion may also be converted totext. Computer 120 may store all or some of the different portionsincluding the portion converted to text. Computer 120 may storegeographic position information regarding a device over a period of timesuch that a path of travel of the user may be inferred. Thus theposition and context of a user may be mapped, tracked or predictedthrough a physical environment or area.

In one embodiment, computer 120 receives a communication from a devicewith a portion of the communication that corresponds to a voice of theuser of the device. Computer 120 is able to convert the audible portionto information used by computer 120 to derive context information fromthe communication to determine performance metrics regarding thecommunication or the user of the device. The resulting information mayalso be interpreted as a command for computer 120 to execute. Theresulting information may also be employed to determine a destinationfor the communication.

In one embodiment, each speaker is identified with a unique identifierwith each voice file so that a speech-to-text engine can train on thespeaker's voice and more accurately choose words from the dictionariesand individual user grammars. Individually customized dictionaries andgrammars may be used for the sequential context of the spoken words. Forexample, saying, “urgent Bob” is interpreted by looking up the firstword in a command dictionary and the second word in a names or placesdictionary. In one embodiment, a frequency table is built for each userdefining how frequently they call a name or place to improve theprobability of selecting the correct word. In one embodiment, if acommand, name, or place is not understood, the system may default to themost likely destination group. The user can easily opt out of thedefault destination and start again. Alternatively, if the command, nameor place is not recognized, the computer system 120 may be programmed todefault to a simple reply such as “command not recognized” or “personnot found.”

In one embodiment, computer 120 executes a command received from device105. The command may be directly received from device 105 or may bereceived in an audible voice signal with is converted to text and theninterpreted to be a command for computer 120. The command may be toinitiate a virtual voice connection between device 105 and device 110.The command may be to initiate a connection to a telephony system suchthat a user of device 105 may communicate with another user who isemploying a telephone for communication. The command may be for computer120 to store information into or extract information out of database125.

In one embodiment, computer 120 is able to access database 125 overnetwork 135. Network 135 may be a local area network, a wirelessnetwork, the Internet or another computer network. In one embodiment,database 125 is a component part of computer 120 and network 135 is notrequired for computer 120 to access database 125. Database 125 maycomprise an inventory of product or any other type of information. Forexample, in a retail setting a customer may use a device to communicatewith an associate regarding whether the retail setting has a particularproduct in stock. The associate may use key terms to query computer 120regarding whether the product is in stock. Computer 120 may convert theassociate's voice to text and recognize the command regarding whetherthe product is in stock. Computer 120 then queries database 125 andsends a response back to the associate and/or customer. The response maybe sent back using an audible signal or a signal to be displayed on ascreen at the user device. Similar examples may be constructed aroundproduct location databases, workforce scheduling systems, on-floor zoneassignments, time clock systems or other information systems used foroperations and reporting. Alternatively, computer 120 may recognize acommand based on the converted text without a user saying key terms.

Database 125 may be a local inventory or a larger inventory. In oneembodiment, database 125 is not an inventory but comprises differentdata. For example, a user may employ the device to communicate with andcommand computer 120 to perform a key word search of the Internet usinga search engine such as a website search engine.

With reference now to FIG. 1B, a block diagram of an environment 140 forstructuring communications in an observation platform. Environment 140includes devices 105, 110 and 130, radio base station 115, computer 120,transceivers 145, 150, and 155, and regions 160, 165, and 170.Environment 140 comprises components that may or may not be used withdifferent embodiments of the present technology and should not beconstrued to limit the present technology. Some or all of the componentsof environment 140 may be described as an observation platform forstructuring a communication.

Transceivers 145, 150, and 155 are capable of sending and receivingsignals to and from radio base station 115 and devices 105, 110 and 130.Transceivers 145, 150, and 155 may or may not be networked to oneanother and to either radio base station 115, computer 120 or both.Transceivers 145, 150, and 155 may be transceivers such as wirelessrouters in a computing network. The transceivers may relay acommunication from a user device to computer 120. A communication orsignal may be routed through a plurality of transceivers before reachingcomputer 120.

In one embodiment, the transceivers may be uniquely identifiable suchthat a communication may comprise a characteristic that identifies thecommunication as being routed through a given transceiver. Thisidentification of the transceiver may be employed by computer 120 todetermine a geographic location of a device or user. Thus, acharacteristic of the communication may be an identity of a transceiverand comprises information that is indicative of a geographic position.Computer 120 may determine that a device is in a geographic region thatis associated with a transceiver such as region 160 associated withtransceiver 145. Computer 120 may also use geographic information anduser motion characteristics to predict and pre-set association to thenext likely transceiver.

In one embodiment, computer 120 determines the geographic location of adevice based on a transceiver signal strength received at the devicefrom one or more transceivers. For example, device 130 may receivesignals from both transceivers 150 and 155 each with a correspondingsignal strength. The signal strength data is sent from device 130 tocomputer 120 as a characteristic of a signal or communication sent tocomputer 120. The signal strength data is then used by computer 120 todetermine the geographic position of device 130.

Transceivers 145, 150, and 155 each have an associated region such asregions 160, 165, and 170. The regions may define the transmission rangeof the transceiver or may be defined based on some other criteria. Inone embodiment, the regions may be described as wireless hotspots.Regions 160, 165 and 170 may be well defined geographical regions eitherindoors or outdoors and me be known to computer 120. Regions 160, 165and 170 are depicted as not overlapping one another. However, theregions may or may not overlap one another. In one embodiment, computer120 may determine the geographic location of a device based on itslocation in one or more regions. For example, device 105 may be locatedin region 160. In another example, regions 160 and 165 may beoverlapping and computer 120 determines that device 110 is in theoverlapping portions of region 160 and 165 because a characteristic of acommunication from device 110 indicates that device 110 is receivingsignals from both transceiver 145 and 150. Thus a characteristic ofsignal sent from a user device to computer 120 may be contents of acommunication, a portion of a communication corresponding to an audiblesource, signal strength data of a transceiver, an identity of atransceiver, geographic position data, or other information.

In one embodiment, computer 120 determines the geographic motion,movement, or path of travel of a user based on transceiver signalstrengths received at the device from one or more transceivers. Movementof the communications device 130 may be derived from data regardingsignal strength measurements made at one or more of the transceivers,where the signal strength is measured and sampled at successive timeintervals, via well-known methods. For example, as a user moves aboutthe region in environment 140, the signal strength will increase at onetransceiver device and decrease at another. Movement of thecommunications device 130 may also be derived from internal componentsin the device such as accelerometers, again via successive time samplesof acceleration data. This data may be used to detect a smaller range ofmovement.

With reference now to FIG. 1C, a block diagram of an environment 180 forstructuring communications in an observation platform. Environment 180includes devices 105, 110, 111 and 131, radio base stations 115 and 116,computers 120 and 121, network 135 and regions 175 and 176. Environment180 comprises components that may or may not be used with differentembodiments of the present technology and should not be construed tolimit the present technology. Some or all of the components ofenvironment 180 may be described as an observation platform forstructuring a communication.

In one embodiment, device 105 and 110 are located within region 175. Thecomponents depicted within region 175 may be described as an observationplatform. Region 175 may be described as having a radio range, or spanof operating distance. For example, radio base station 115 may have aphysical limit regarding the distance which it may transmit radiosignals. Therefore, a device outside of the radio range, such as devices131 or 111 will not be able to communicate with computer 120 via a radiosignal transmitted from radio base station 115. Additionally, devices105, 110, 111 and 131 may also have a limited radio range.

These limitations may be overcome by computer 120 relaying thecommunication to either device 131 or a second observation platformwithin region 176 via network 135. Therefore, devices 105 and 110 maycommunicate with either device 111 or 131 where the communications arerelayed by computer 120 and network 135. Region 176 may be described asa second observation platform with components that are duplicates of orsimilar to components of region 175. The regions 175 and 176 maycomprises any number of communication devices or other components suchcomputers, routers, and transceivers. Thus, the present technologyprovides for structured or disciplined communications between at leasttwo user devices that may or may not be within radio range of oneanother.

In one embodiment, the communications between computer 120 and devices105 and 110 are accomplished via radio signals and the communicationsbetween device 131 and computer 120 are accomplished via network 135. Inone embodiment, the connected between network 135 and device 131 istelephony call such that device 105, which may not be a telephone,places a phone call to device 131, which is a telephone, via theobservation platform. In such an embodiment, network 135 may compriseboth a computer network and a phone network or cloud.

In one embodiment, device 131 and/or region 176 may be physically remoterelative to radio base station 115. For example, all the componentsshown within region 175 may be located within radio range of one anotherat a first location, but device 131 and region 176 are located at asecond and third location outside of region 175. These first, second andthird locations may be separated by any length of distance. The secondor third location may be hundreds or even thousands of miles away fromthe first location or may be less than a mile away but still outside ofregion 175. In one embodiment, computer 120 and radio base station 115are located at a first physical address such as a street address for abuilding or other physical location, device 131 is located at a secondphysical address, and computer 121 and radio base station 116 arelocated at a third physical address.

In one embodiment, computer 120 and radio base station 115 areassociated with a retail environment and region 175 includes the retailfloor as well as an office or other area designated for associates,managers, or employees of the retail environment. However, computer 121and radio base station 116 are located in region 176 are located at asecond retail environment. The first and second retail environments maybe related to one another such as both being a franchise of the samebusiness or enterprise. Thus, a customer or associate may be located inregion 175 associated with a first franchise, e.g. a first observationplatform, and speak with an associate using device 111 in a secondfranchise, e.g., a second observation platform. The customer orassociate may ask questions regarding the inventory of an item at thesecond franchise or speak with an associate at the second franchise thathas knowledge not known by associates at the first franchise.

With reference now to FIG. 1D, a block diagram of an environment 190 forstructuring communications in an observation platform. FIG. 1D may bedescribed as a top down view of a environment comprising components ofthe present technology. Environment 100 includes region 191, region 192,detector 193, device 194, device 195, radio base station 115, andcomputer 120. Environment 190 comprises components that may or may notbe used with different embodiments of the present technology and shouldnot be construed to limit the present technology. Some or all of thecomponents of environment 190 may be described as an observationplatform for structuring a communication.

It should be appreciated that device 194 and device 195 comprise all ofthe same features and capabilities of devices 105, 110 and 130 asdescribed herein in reference to other figures. In one embodiment,environment 190 is a retail environment such as a store whose purpose isto sell products and/or services to customers or potential customers.The retail environment may employ managers, sales associates, and otheremployees that may be referred to herein as associates. In such a retailenvironment device 194 is used by or associated with an associate anddevice 195 is used by or associated with a potential customer. It shouldbe appreciated that device 194 and device 195 may be owned by the retailenvironment, the user of the device, or a third party entity. Forexample, device 195 may be owned by the potential customer or may beissued to or loaned to the potential customer while in the retailenvironment. The devices may also be off the shelf devices such as asmart phone or tablet or may be a specific purpose device built for thepresent technology. Device 195 may or may not be required to downloadand install software such as an app to function with the presenttechnology.

In one embodiment, it is detected that device 194 and device 195 arewithin proximity to one another. This detection may be made usingseveral different techniques and may be made at different location viadifferent devices. In one embodiment, the proximity is detected via theobservation platform meaning computer 120 and radio base station 115.Specifically, computer 120 may track the location of both device 194 anddevice 195 within the retail environment. Computer 120 may perform thistracking by inferring location information regarding the devices. Theinferring may be based on data generated using radio frequency strengthof communications between the devices and radio base station 115 orsignal strength of the devices detected at other transceivers associatedwithin the retail environment such as what is described with referenceto FIG. 1B. The location information may be inferred at computer 120 viacharacteristics of the communications sent by the devices such asmetadata. In one embodiment, device 194 and device 195 each generate andsend location information to computer 120.

In one embodiment, computer 120 employs detectors for detectingproximity between device 194 and device 195 such as detector 193.Detector 193 may be incorporated mobile devices 194 or 195 or may be aseparate device connected to computer 120 through the radio base station115 or through other network connections. Detector 193 may be a varietyof different devices such as an optical capturing device or a camera forcapturing images of associates and potential customers. Computer 120 isthen able to analyze the images and determine the proximity between anassociate and a potential customer. In one embodiment, detector 193 is aradio frequency identity (RFID) receiver that is capable of detecting anRFID signal output but devices such as device 194 and device 195. TheRFID signal of the devices may be measured for signal strength todetermine location of the devices. In one embodiment, detector 193 is aBluetooth device that can detect a Bluetooth signal from the devices.The Bluetooth may be low power or low energy Bluetooth (BLE). Detector193 may also be a transceiver such as a wireless router. Environment 190may comprise a plurality of detectors of different varieties. In oneembodiment, detector 193 is capable of determining the proximity andnotifying computer 120 of the proximity.

Alternatively, in one embodiment, device 194 is capable of determiningthat it is in proximity to device 195. Device 194 may then notifycomputer 120 of the proximity. Device 194 may communicate with computer120 via radio base station 115 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1D.Device 194 may detect or determine proximity with device 195 viaBluetooth such as low powered Bluetooth. By using Bluetooth, or othermeans, device 194 can detect proximity to device 195 in an embodimentwhere device 194 is associated with the observation platform and device195 does not directly communicate with computer 120 because device 195has not installed any software for use in interacting with theobservation platform. In one embodiment, the observation platform tracksthe location of device 194, device 194 determines proximity to device195, and then the observation platform can put this data togetherdetermine a location or approximate location of device 195. Thus theobservation platform of the present technology indirectly tracks andinteracts with device 195 even when device 195 is not a part of theobservation platform.

In one embodiment, it should be appreciated that while device 194 may bea mobile device, it can also be affixed to a known or specific locationwithin the observation platform. Device 194 may be a stationary deviceaffixed to a post, a shelf or a display, and will continue to detect andreport information regarding the proximity of other devices such as 195.

In one embodiment, proximity between device 194 and device 195 is apredetermined distance between to the devices. For example, region 191and region 192 may represent a radius around each device that is apredetermined radius. When region 191 overlaps with region 192 then thetwo devices may be said to be in proximity to one another. In oneembodiment, region 191 and region 192 may be defined as the region thatlow powered Bluetooth may be detected from by another device.

Once it is determined that two devices are in proximity to one another,computer 120 may send information to device 194. The information may bespeech information for use by the associate using device 194 to makeoffers to the potential customer using device 195. For example, thespeech information may be audible to the associate via an earpiecespeaker associated with device 194. In such an example, device 194 maybe wearable by the associate. Upon the detection of proximity, theinformation may be pushed to device 194 without the user of device 194requesting the information. The information may be generated by computer120 and sent to device 194 via radio base station 115. The informationmay also be text, images, or other to be displayed by device 194. In oneembodiment, the information is to make an offer to sale products and/orservices to the potential customer. The offer may be a special dealcurrently offered by the retail environment, the offer may otherwise beunadvertised by the retail environment, the offer may be a one-timeoffer to the potential customer, and the offer may be tailoredspecifically to the potential customer. The information sent to theassociate via device 194 allows the associate to interact with thepotential customer on a more personal level. For example, the associatemay have had past dealings with the potential customer but does notimmediately recognize the potential customer. The information helps theassociate remember or recognize the potential customer. Additionally, ifa particular associate has not had past dealings with the potentialcustomer, the information can still be used to make the potentialcustomer feel that they have been recognized by the organizationassociated with the retail environment. The present technology alsoturns the associate into a beacon for offers that helps make theassociate a more effective seller. It should be appreciated that theinformation is not limited to making offers but could be any type ofinformation relevant to the user of device 194 upon detection thatdevice 194 is in proximity to device 195.

In one embodiment, the information pushed to device 194 is generatedbased on an identity of the user of device 195. For example, the user ofdevice 195 may be a repeat customer of the retail environment. Computer120 may have access to a user history associated with the repeatcustomer. The user history may be used by computer 120 to generate anoffer tailored to the repeat customer. Computer 120 may identify theuser of device 195 via any number of means. The user, or potentialcustomer, may self-identify themselves to computer 120 by entering datainto device 195 which is then communicated to computer 120. Thisself-identifying may be accomplished by the user logging into softwareinstalled on device 195 where the software is associated with theobservation platform. The self-identifying may only have to be performedone time by the user and device 195 then broadcasts this identityinformation to the observation platform each time device 195 enters theretail environment. In one embodiment, computer 120 or the observationplatform tracks unique information about device 195 and thus has a userhistory associated with device 195 but does not actually identify theuser of device 195 meaning that the observation platform does not knowthe name or other identifiers of the user of device 195. It should beappreciated that device 195 may or may not directly communicate withdevice 194, radio base station 115, and computer 120 as indicated by thedotted lines.

It should be appreciated that the present technology may operate torelay communications based on context information derived using theobservation platform and may simultaneously detect the proximitydescribed herein and use the proximity detection to send information toan associate to make an offer. The relaying of communications may comebefore, during or after the detection of proximity and subsequentsending of information.

With reference now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of an environment 200 forstructuring communications in an environment. Environment 200 includesradio base station 115, computer 120, users 205, 210, 215, 220, 225,230, and 235, structure 240, area 245, area 250, radio devices 255 and260 and user 265. Environment 200 comprises components that may or maynot be used with different embodiments of the present technology andshould not be construed to limit the present technology.

Environment 200 depicts a setting in which the present technology may beemployed. Environment 200 may be, but is not limited to, retailsettings, public-stage floors, outdoor venues, concerts, policescenarios, disaster areas, and other environments where communicationsoccur between users. Areas 245 and 250 are depicted as being enclosed.However, the present technology may be implemented in an outdoor orindoor environment or a combination of the two. Users 205, 210, 215,220, 225, 230, and 235 are depicted as each holding a device such asdevice 105 of FIG. 1. The devices do not necessarily need to behandheld. Users 205, 210, 215, 220, 225, 230, and 235 may be a varietyof different types of users. For example, the users may be associatesand customers intermingled in a retail setting. Area 245 may be theretail floor while area 250 is a back office or other area designatedfor associates, managers, or employees of the retail environment.

Structure 240 may be a display, shelves, aisle divider, or otherstructure that physically separates spaces in area 245. For example,users 205, 210, and 215 are depicted as being in separate space of area245 than users 220, 225, 230, and 235. Computer 120 may be able tointeract with users 205, 210, 215, 220, 225, 230, and 235 and determinethe user's geographic locations as well as act as a central hub for allcommunications between the users. In one embodiment, computer 120recognizes a group of users associated with communication devices. Thegroup may be based on a classification or type of user or may be basedon a location of said users. In one example, computer 120 recognizesthat users 205, 215, 230, and 235 are associates and users 210, 220, and225 are customers in a retail setting. The associates may be considereda first group and the customers a second group. In a second example,computer 120 recognizes that users 205, 210, and 215 are a first groupin a separate space of area 245 than the second group of users 220, 225,230, and 235. Computer 120 may then employ the recognition of groups togenerate visual representations of features of the group and itscommunications. It should be appreciated that groups can simultaneouslyexist in many locations and are not constrained by building walls orgeography.

In one embodiment, environment 200 comprises radio devices 255 and 260used for communication with user devices and radio base station 115.Radio devices 255 and 260 may or may not be networked with radio basestation 115 to provide additional coverage or range for radio basestation 115. For example, radio devices 255 and 260 may be antennas orradio repeaters for radio base station 115. In one embodiment, radiodevices 255 and 260 are wireless routers for computer networking.Computer 120 may employ radio devices 255 and 260 to determine ageographic location of a user. Radio devices 255 and 260 andtransceivers 145, 150 and 155 may each have the same capabilities andfeatures as one another.

The geographic location or position of a user may be determined bycomputer 120 receiving periodic clues or evidence of the geographiclocation of the user device and then computer 120 infers or deduces thegeographic location based on the evidence or clues. For example, theuser device associated with user 205 may receive a plurality of signalsfrom radio base station 115 and radio devices 255 and 260. Each signalhas a unique signature at the current position of user 205. Thesignatures of each source are periodically sent to computer 120 or as acomponent characteristic of any communication. Computer 120 may thendetermine the geographic position of user 205 based on the signatures ofeach source and the known location of the sources e.g., radio basestation 115 and radio devices 255 and 260. In one embodiment, the userdevice knows its geographic position based on geographic positioncomponent which is part of the user device. The geographic positioncomponent may be a component device or chip that employs the globalpositing system, other satellite navigation system, inferred signals,radio signals (e.g., Low Energy Bluetooth (BLE), WiFi, WiMax or other RFemissions) or RFID signals for determining a geographic location orposition. A user device with a geographic position component maytransmit the determined geographic position to computer 120 periodicallyor as part of a communication. Thus computer 120 may know the locationof a user at a given time based on the geographic position of the deviceassociated with the user.

In one embodiment, user 265 interfaces with computer 120 to use thepresent technology to optimize communications. Computer 120 maydetermine and display performance metrics or visual representationsregarding communications to user 265. User 265 may then use theperformance metrics and visual representations to make decisions. Forexample, user 265 may be a manager of associates who can identify that acustomer has asked for assistance at a given location but no associateshave responded. The manager may then use the present technology torequest an associated to assist the customer. In one embodiment, user265 is able to directly use computer 120 and radio base station 115 tocommunicate with other users by individual identification, locationgroupings or contextual groupings.

In one embodiment, user 265 interfaces with computer 120 to use thepresent technology to optimize geographic location. User 265 may be acustomer and requests help from computer 120. Computer 120 determinesthe associate nearest the location of user 265 and provides the currentand updated location of user 265 until intercepted by the associate. Inone embodiment, user 265 may request help verbally, not engagingcomputer 120, and that request is heard by all nearby associates whosecontext is “not engaged with shoppers.”

In one embodiment, computer 120 derives performance metrics, businessmetric or metric from the communications between users. The metrics maybe used to generate visual representations. The metrics and/or visualrepresentations may be employed to make decisions. The metrics andvisual representations may be sent to another computer system or device.A metric may be based on the behavior of a user, the context of theuser, information carried by the tone and quality of voice, and theuser's spoken or signaled communications.

A sales performance metric may be determined by linking sales withusers, measuring busy (or “engaged with shopper”) times of users, andascertaining busy status of user. The busy status of a user may indicatethat the user is engaged in a communication, a task, assisting acustomer or otherwise occupied. A response time metric may also bedetermined by measuring the time it takes to answer a user's question,or how long it takes to receive assistance after asking for it. Acustomer satisfaction metric may also be derived based on the text ofthe customer's communication. A task performance metric may bedetermined by measuring the length of time an associate is currentlyengaged in performing said task, including noting pending and completedtasks. Metrics may be used by a manager to reward good behavior orcorrect undesired behavior. Additionally, because the communications andother audio information have been recorded, the communications may beused in training as examples.

Visual representations may be described as communication trafficintensity maps between users and/or groups such as who talks to whom,how frequently and at what time of day; who asks questions and whoresponds; who responds to tasks, when and how long it took to respond;and who has listened to which training podcasts, where they listened andwhen. Visual representations may also be described as location maps suchas, a status of when users indicate that they are engaged, busy oravailable, when users ask questions; quiet areas where no communicationsor engagements are occurring; where users are not located; where sellingtips were left and by whom; location-based-tasks and the times it takesto complete them; a path of where users have traveled geographically;and a map of the environment. With this observation platform forstructuring communications, a more complete observation of many of theevents in the interaction between and among all users can be observed,cataloged, and analyzed, providing a great deal of useful information toany manager of the overall process.

Operations of Using Structured Communications in an Observation Platform

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating process 300 for using structuredcommunication in an observation platform in accordance with oneembodiment of the present technology. Process 300 may also be describedas disciplining communications in an observation platform. In oneembodiment, process 300 is a computer implemented method that is carriedout by processors and electrical components under the control ofcomputer usable and computer executable instructions. The computerusable and computer executable instructions reside, for example, in datastorage features such as computer usable volatile and non-volatilememory. However, the computer usable and computer executableinstructions may reside in any type of computer usable storage medium.In one embodiment, process 300 is performed by the components of FIG.1A, 1B, 1C or 2. In one embodiment, the methods may reside in a computerusable storage medium having instructions embodied therein that whenexecuted cause a computer system to perform the method.

At 302, a signal from a first communication device is received at asecond communication device associated with a computer system, wherein afirst characteristic of the signal corresponds to an audible source anda second characteristic of the signal corresponds to informationindicative of a geographic position of the first communication device.Additional characteristics of the signal may include contextualinformation and environmental information. For example, the audiblesource may be the voice of a user, the signal characteristics mayinclude signal signature information and contextual/environmentalinformation may include user status (e.g., engaged or on-break) and/orbackground noise levels.

At 304, a first user associated with the first communication device isrecognized at the computer system.

At 306, context information for the signal is derived at the computersystem associated with the second communication device. The contextinformation may be geographic information, data regarding length or timeof communication, or text of the communication. In one embodiment,speech to text recognition techniques are employed to covert an audiblecommunication to text. In one embodiment, the context information is acommand for the computer system to perform. In one embodiment, thesignal is encrypted or encoded uniquely with respect to the firstcommunication device. The context information may be a command to thecomputer system. For example the computer system may be commanded toaccess a database in response to a query or may be given information tostore for future reference.

In one embodiment, the information is a command and the command may beissued verbally by a user in a communication. For example, a user mayspeak into a communication device the phrase “hello everybody” thus thecommunication is the spoken phrase and the computer system may derivethat the communication is to be sent to everybody. The computer systemthen relays the signal to everybody associated with the communicationobservation platform. In another example, the communication may be thephrase “hello Bob.” The computer system derives that the destination ofthe communication is Bob; the communication is then relayed only to Bob.

The Table below shows examples of Communication Phrases and DerivedContext information. Specific examples using sample vocabulary are givenas well as more general cases indicated by the brackets [ ].

Communication Phrase Derived Context Information “Hello Everybody” Thecommunication is to be relayed to a Hello [Group] group defined as“everybody” and anyone may respond. Context information such as“engaged” may limit those who hear and may respond to the “Hello”phrase. “Hello Bob” The communication is to be relayed to an Hello[Person] individual identified as “Bob” and only “Bob” hears the messageand is able to respond. Context information such as “engaged” may resultin the computer providing additional information to the caller such asthe state of the user (e.g., “engaged”) and other factors such aslocation. “Hello Workshop” The communication is to be relayed to Hello[Location] everyone associated with the “Workshop” location. Contextinformation such as “engaged” may limit those who hear and may respondto the “Hello” phrase. “Hello Process Experts” The communication isrelayed to all Hello [Group] identified as the group, “Process Experts.”These people or machines may be physically located in any region orenvironment. Context information such as “engaged” may limit those whohear and may respond to the “Hello” phrase. “Urgent Bob” or Thecommunication is an urgent “Interrupt Bob” communication to be relayedto “Bob.” Interrupt [Person] Such a command may interrupt “Bob” if heInterrupt [Group] is “engaged” or communicating with others Interrupt[Location] or the system as defined by the operator of the environment.Once interrupted, communication is between the caller and original user(i.e., Bob) and may or may not include others who may have been talkingwith Bob at the time. “Message Bob” Leaves a message that persists for apre- Message [Person] determined interval. Messages for groups Message[Group] are heard as persons become available. Message [Location]Messages for locations are heard as persons become available or enterthe location area. Special cases for ‘messages” include delivering audioinformation to groups such as Marketing Departments, Buyers, Help Desks,Websites, Technical Support or Product improvement requests.“Announcement The communication is to be relayed to Everybody”“everyone” as a bulletin. Those users who Announcement [Group] areengaged or not yet on the system will hear the bulletin when they becomeavailable. “Selling tip for the side The communication is to be relayedto those hallway” who are within or enter the side hallway asAnnouncement an announcement. No response is [Location] anticipated.“Absolute The communication is delivered to all who Announcement for areavailable and in the proper context. A Maintenance Team” response ismandatory. The system Absolute Announcement records the time, location,user and spoken [Group] or [Location] or response for later analysis orstorage. [Person] “Where is Steve” The communication is a command toWhere is [Person] determine a geographic location of Steve Where is[Group] and to send a message back to the communication device from thecomputer system that speaks the response. The response may also includecontextual information such as “Steve is available” or Steve is engaged”or other information from other sources such as “Steve is on break.”Steve does not need to hear that his status was being probed, althoughit is possible to alert him. “Who is near the central The communicationis a command to hallway” determine who is geographically located Who isnear [Location] near the central hallway region and to send a messageback to the communication device from the computer system that speaksthe response. The response may include additional contextual informationfor the persons in that location. “Go to simple menu” The communicationis a command for the Command [profile] computer system to go to thesimple menu profile and to send a message back that speaks the phrase“you will now go to simple menu.” This feature allows individual usersto move into different command, control and skill level profiles withinthe system. “Does anyone know if Some formats of commands are natural towe have . . . ?” the users, but not is a structured speech Spoken Stringpattern. In this case, the words, “Does anyone know . . . ” may triggerthe computer to send this message to group of people who know wherethings are. Additional contextual information may limit that group to adepartment or location.

The phrase “Go to simple menu” may be a command to enter a differentmenu structure for such activities as new-user learning, learning aboutproducts or business, listening to communications, or set-up functionssuch as group participation and default settings for the individual.

At 308, a geographic location of the first communication device isdetermined based on the second characteristic of the signal and at leastone other source of information. For example, the at least one othersource of information may be a router that the signal is routed through,a signal strength of the signal, information from the secondcommunication device, etc.

At 310, a copy of at least one characteristic of the signal is stored ina storage medium and is made available for performance metric analysis.In one embodiment, the performance metrics are key performance metrics.At least one characteristic may be, but is not limited to, a time stamp,engaged, available status, a message, a voice file, a location, a signalsignature, a type of message, text corresponding to a message, commandsused to initiate the message, other contextual information about theuser and an identity of the path the signal was routed through.

At 312, instructions are received at the computer system comprisingrules for the relaying the signal to the destination derived from thecontext information. The rules may instruct to whom and to how thecommunication is to be relayed. For example, information derived from acommunication may command that the communication be sent to everyoneassociated with the geographic location of “Workshop.” However, therules may instruct that the communication is only relayed to thoseassociated with the “Workshop” who are designated as available or notbusy. The rules may also comprise a predetermined time or a lifetime inwhich a response may be relayed to an available communication device.

At 314, the signal is relayed to a destination derived from the contextinformation. The destination may be another user or a plurality of useror the computer system itself. The destination may be located outside ofa radio range associated with the second communication device or beotherwise physically remote relative to the second communication device.

At 316, a data entry and visual representation is generated indicatingthe geographic position of the first communication device with respectto a geographic environment in which the first communication device islocated. For example, the visual representation may be a map depictingthe location of users or where users have been. The data entry andvisual representation may include a status indicator of the user such aswhether the user is busy or available.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating process 400 for using a structuredcommunication in an observation platform in accordance with oneembodiment of the present technology. In one embodiment, process 400 isa computer implemented method that is carried out by processors andelectrical components under the control of computer usable and computerexecutable instructions. The computer usable and computer executableinstructions reside, for example, in data storage features such ascomputer usable volatile and non-volatile memory. However, the computerusable and computer executable instructions may reside in any type ofcomputer usable storage medium. In one embodiment, process 400 isperformed by the components of FIG. 1A, 1B, 1C or 2. In one embodiment,the methods may reside in a computer usable storage medium havinginstructions embodied therein that when executed cause a computer systemto perform the method.

At 402, a signal from a first communication device is received at asecond communication device, wherein a first characteristic of thesignal corresponds to a voice of a first user and a secondcharacteristic of the signal corresponds to information indicative of ageographic position of the first communication device. Additionalcharacteristics of the signal may include contextual information andenvironmental information. For example, the audible source may be thevoice of a user, the signal characteristics may include signal signatureinformation and contextual/environmental information may include userstatus (e.g., engaged or on-break) and/or background noise levels.

At 404, the first user associated with the first communication device isrecognized.

At 406, text or machine code related to the voice of the first user isrecognized.

At 408, context information from the text or machine code is derived ata computer system associated with the second communication device,wherein the context information corresponds to a command related to thetext or machine code.

At 410, the text or machine code is stored in a storage medium fordeveloping performance metrics.

At 412, the signal is relayed to a destination derived from the contextinformation. The destination may be located outside of a radio rangeassociated with the second communication device or be otherwisephysically remote relative to the second communication device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating process 500 for observing andrecording users of communication devices in accordance with oneembodiment of the present technology. In one embodiment, process 500 isa computer implemented method that is carried out by processors andelectrical components under the control of computer usable and computerexecutable instructions. The computer usable and computer executableinstructions reside, for example, in data storage features such ascomputer usable volatile and non-volatile memory. However, the computerusable and computer executable instructions may reside in any type ofcomputer usable storage medium. In one embodiment, process 500 isperformed by the components of FIG. 1A, 1B, 1C or 2. In one embodiment,the methods may reside in a computer usable storage medium havinginstructions embodied therein that when executed cause a computer systemto perform the method.

In one embodiment, process 500 is a management observation tool forkeeping track of mobile human resources and collecting data on theiractivities.

At 502, a first user associated with a first communication device and asecond user associated with a second communication device are recognizedat a central computer system.

At 504, geographic locations of the first communication device and thesecond communication device are tracked at the central computer system.In one embodiment, tracking means storing data about location and anyspoken information.

At 506, a communication between the first communication device and thesecond communication device are tracked and recorded at the centralcomputer system, wherein at least a portion of the communication is anaudible communication.

At 508, features of the communication are identified at the centralcomputer system. Features may be described as characteristics or dataregarding the communication itself. The features may be user status suchas engaged/available, location of a user, communication history of theuser, context of the communication, keywords used in the communication,a classification of the communication, and time stamps.

At 510, the features are made available to a manager, operations staffor operations machines for making decisions or informing the users thatnew actions are requested.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating process 600 for characterizingcommunications in a group of users in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present technology. In one embodiment, process 600 is a computerimplemented method that is carried out by processors and electricalcomponents under the control of computer usable and computer executableinstructions. The computer usable and computer executable instructionsreside, for example, in data storage features such as computer usablevolatile and non-volatile memory. However, the computer usable andcomputer executable instructions may reside in any type of computerusable storage medium. In one embodiment, process 600 is performed bythe components of FIG. 1A, 1B, 1C or 2. In one embodiment, the methodsmay reside in a computer usable storage medium having instructionsembodied therein that when executed cause a computer system to performthe method.

At 602, a group of users is recognized, at a computer system, whereineach user of the group of users are associated with communicationdevices. The group of users may be recognized based on a classificationof the user or a geographic location of the users. For example, aclassification of the users may be whether the user is an associate or acustomer in a retail setting.

At 604, a communication between the communication devices is recorded atthe computer system, wherein at least a portion of the communication isan audible communication. In one embodiment, at least a portion of thecommunication is a pre-recorded audible communication.

At 606, geographic locations of the communication devices are recordedat the computer system. The location may be determined based on signalsignatures or other “clues” from other devices sent periodically or withthe communication indicative of the location.

At 608, features are identified based upon the communication. Featuresmay be described as characteristic or data regarding the communicationitself. The features may be a user status such as engaged/available,location of a user, communication history of the user, context of thecommunication, a classification of the communication, a frequency ofcommunications between two users, a length of a communication, keywordsused in the communication, a response time to a communication and timestamps.

At 610, a visual representation of the features is generated at thecomputer system. The visual representation may depict when a user ofsaid group of users is engaged in said communication, when a user ofsaid group of users asks a question in said communication, who respondsto the question, where each user of said group of users are located, andwhere said group of users are not located. Alerts, either visual orverbal, may be generated depending on the rules established by thesystem operators.

At 612, the visual representation is made available to a manager,operations staff or operations machines for making decisions orinforming the users that new actions are requested.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating process 700 for using structuredcommunication in a plurality of observation platforms in accordance withone embodiment of the present technology. Process 700 may also bedescribed as disciplining communications in an observation platform. Inone embodiment, process 700 is a computer implemented method that iscarried out by processors and electrical components under the control ofcomputer usable and computer executable instructions. The computerusable and computer executable instructions reside, for example, in datastorage features such as computer usable volatile and non-volatilememory. However, the computer usable and computer executableinstructions may reside in any type of computer usable storage medium.In one embodiment, process 700 is performed by the components of FIG.1A, 1B, 1C or 2. In one embodiment, the methods may reside in a computerusable storage medium having instructions embodied therein that whenexecuted cause a computer system to perform the method.

At 702, a signal in a first observation platform is received from afirst communication device at a second communication device associatedwith a computer system wherein a first characteristic of the signalcorresponds to an audible source and a second characteristic of thesignal corresponds to information indicative of a geographic position ofthe first communication device, and wherein the second observationplatform is associated with a radio range. Additional characteristics ofthe signal may include contextual information and environmentalinformation. For example, the audible source may be the voice of a user,the signal characteristics may include signal signature information andcontextual/environmental information may include user status (e.g.,engaged or on-break) and/or background noise levels.

At 704, a first user associated with the first communication device isrecognized at the computer system.

At 706, context information for the signal is derived at the computersystem associated with the second communication device. The contextinformation may be geographic information, data regarding length or timeof communication, or text of the communication. In one embodiment,speech to text recognition techniques are employed to covert an audiblecommunication to text. In one embodiment, the context information is acommand for the computer system to perform. In one embodiment, thesignal is encrypted or encoded uniquely with respect to the firstcommunication device. The context information may be a command to thecomputer system. For example the computer system may be commanded toaccess a database in response to a query.

At 708, the signal is relayed from the computer system to a secondcomputer system associated with a second observation platform via acomputer network

At 710, the signal is relayed to a destination in the second observationplatform via the second computer system derived from said contextinformation.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating process 800 for performing structuredcommunications in an observation platform in accordance with oneembodiment of the present technology. Process 800 may also be describedas disciplining communications in an observation platform. In oneembodiment, process 800 is a computer implemented method that is carriedout by processors and electrical components under the control ofcomputer usable and computer executable instructions. The computerusable and computer executable instructions reside, for example, in datastorage features such as computer usable volatile and non-volatilememory. However, the computer usable and computer executableinstructions may reside in any type of computer usable storage medium.In one embodiment, process 800 is performed by the components of FIG.1A, 1B, 1C or 2. In one embodiment, the methods may reside in a computerusable storage medium having instructions embodied therein that whenexecuted cause a computer system to perform the method.

At 802, a signal is received from a first communication device at asecond communication device associated with a computer system, whereinthe computer system is associated with an organization, wherein a firstcharacteristic of the signal corresponds to an audible source and asecond characteristic of the signal corresponds to informationindicative of a geographic position of the first communication device.Additional characteristics of the signal may include contextualinformation and environmental information. For example, the audiblesource may be the voice of a user, the signal characteristics mayinclude signal signature information and contextual or environmentalinformation may include user status (e.g., engaged or on-break) and/orbackground noise levels. The organization may be a retail environment, aschool, an event, a military organization, a prison organization,customer service, manufacturing organization, a factory, a disasterresponse team, or any environment where humans interact with one anotherto accomplish a purpose. The first communication device may be ahandheld device that is capable of sending and receiving signals and maycomprise a display, a microphone and a speaker. The first communicationdevice may be owned by the organization and issued to the user or may bethe user's personal property such as a smart phone executing anapplication. The second communication device may be a radio base stationas described herein.

At 804, a user is identified as associated with the first communicationdevice at the computer system. In one embodiment, 804 only identifiesthat there is a user employing the communication device. The actualidentity of the user may remain anonymous to the computer system or theuser may be identified. The user may be identified using one or acombination of several different techniques. The user may be identifiedvia a unique signature of the communication device associated with theuser. For example, the user's communication device may be a smart phonerunning an application. The smart phone may be the user's personalproperty and is always associated with the user. In one embodiment, theuser may be authenticated upon activation of the communication device orthe application. For example, a user may enter an environment, activatea communication device and then give user credentials that identify theuser. This may accomplished via voice commands or text inputs. In oneembodiment, the user credentials are associated with a user profile, butthe actual identity of the user remains anonymous. In one embodiment,the user may activate a communication device and self-identify.Identifying a user may be automatic taking place without the user'sknowledge, or may require the user to acknowledge or give permission forthe computer system to identify the user.

At 806, the audible source of the signal is converted to text or machineunderstandable language at the computer system. This may occur usingspeech-to-text techniques or other techniques employed by computersystems.

At 808, a query related to the organization is derived based on the textor understanding at the computer system. The query may be any number ofqueries from the user. The user may ask for general assistance or mayask a more specific question such as whether an item is in stock, wherean item is located, what sales are taking place, technical details orfeatures regarding an item.

At 810, a response to the query is compiled at the computer system,wherein the response represents the organization. For example, theresponse relates to the purpose of the organization. In one embodiment,the response is regarding a location or status of a person or an itemwithin the organization. The computer system may access a database tocomplete the response. The database maybe a local database such as aninventory of a local store, or may access a database in part of a largernetwork associated with the organization, or may access a databaseassociated with the Internet. In one embodiment, the computer systemperforms a key word search of the Internet using a search engine tocomplete the response.

At 812, the response is sent to the first communication device, whereinthe response is audible at the first communication device. In oneembodiment, the response is initially a text response that is convertedfrom text to speech. The conversion may occur at the computer systemsuch that a signal with an audible portion is sent to the firstcommunication device, or a text message may be sent to the firstcommunication device where it is converted to speech. The response maybe recorded by the organization in a computer system and may also besent to a person associated with the organization such as a manager orassociated. Thus, a person associated with the business may monitor theresponses of the computer system and may be aware of the needs orrequirements of the user associated with the first communication device.

At 814, a prior user history of the user is associated with the firstcommunication device. The user history may be a user profile that may ormay not identify the user. The history may have a list of all thetransactions of this user associated with the organization. The historymay also comprise information provided by the user such as likes anddislikes or preferences regarding which person the user wishes to beserved by while in the organization.

At 816, the signal and the response are relayed to a third communicationdevice associated with a person representing the organization. Theperson associated with the organization may be a consultant, anemployee, an associate, a sales associate, a civil servant, a volunteeror a manager. The third communication device may be a handheld deviceand may or may not be the same type of device as the first communicationdevice.

At 818, a second response is received at the second communication devicefrom the third communication device. For example, the personrepresenting the organization may respond using a signal that may havean audible voice portion a text portion or both.

At 820, the second response is relayed to the first communicationdevice. The computer system may initiate a virtual voice connectionbetween the first communication device and the second communicationdevice.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating process 900 for performing structuredcommunications in an observation platform in accordance with oneembodiment of the present technology. Process 900 may also be describedas disciplining communications in an observation platform. In oneembodiment, process 900 is a computer implemented method that is carriedout by processors and electrical components under the control ofcomputer usable and computer executable instructions. The computerusable and computer executable instructions reside, for example, in datastorage features such as computer usable volatile and non-volatilememory. However, the computer usable and computer executableinstructions may reside in any type of computer usable storage medium.In one embodiment, process 900 is performed by the components of FIG.1A, 1B, 1C or 2. In one embodiment, the methods may reside in a computerusable storage medium having instructions embodied therein that whenexecuted cause a computer system to perform the method.

At 902, a signal is received from a first communication device at asecond communication device associated with a computer system, whereinthe computer system is associated with an organization, wherein a firstcharacteristic of the signal corresponds to an audible source and asecond characteristic of the signal corresponds to informationindicative of a geographic position of the first communication device.Additional characteristics of the signal may include contextualinformation and environmental information. For example, the audiblesource may the voice of a user, the signal characteristics may includesignal signature information and contextual or environmental informationmay include user status (e.g., engaged or on-break) and/or backgroundnoise levels. The organization may be a retail environment, a school, anevent, a military organization, a prison organization, customer service,manufacturing organization, a factory, a disaster response team, or anyenvironment where humans interact with one another to accomplish apurpose. The first communication device may be a handheld device that iscapable of sending and receiving signals and may comprise a display, amicrophone and a speaker. The first communication device may be owned bythe organization and issued to the user or may be the user's personalproperty such as a smart phone executing an application. The secondcommunication device may be a radio base station as described herein.

At 904, a user is identified as associated with the first communicationdevice at the computer system. The actual identity of the user mayremain anonymous to the computer system or the user may be identified.The user may be identified using one or a combination of severaldifferent techniques.

At 906, a query is derived from the signal of the first device relatedto the organization, at the computer system. The query may be any numberof queries from the user. The user may ask for general assistance or mayask a more specific question such as whether an item is in stock, wherean item is located, what sales are taking place, technical details orfeatures regarding an item or requesting general assistance.

At 908, a person representing the organization is determined to respondto the query, wherein the determining is based on a factor related tothe person representing the organization. The factor may also bedescribed as a characteristic. The factor may be related to the queryfrom the user. For example, the user may ask a question regarding anitem in a given department. The determining may be based on who isassociated with the given department. The factor may also be based onthe status of the person, the availability of the person, the proximityof the person to the user, geographic location of the person, knowledgelevel of the person, authority level of the person, ability of theperson, or a combination of factors. The determining may determine thata plurality of persons qualify to respond. The signal may then beforwarded to one of the plurality, a subset of the plurality, or all ofthe plurality of persons.

At 910, the signal is forwarded to a third communication deviceassociated with the person representing the organization.

At 912, a determination that no response has been received at the secondcommunication device from the third communication device is made. 912may occur after 910 in an embodiment where 916 and 918 do not occur.However, 912, 914, 916 and 918 may all occur in one embodiment. Suchdetermination may occur after a pre-determined time period has passedwith no response from the third communication device. Such adetermination may or may not preclude the third communications devicefrom later responding.

At 914, the signal is forwarded to a fourth communication deviceassociated with the person representing the organization. 912 and 914may be repeated forwarding the signal to additional communicationdevices until it is determined that a person representing theorganization has responded via a communication device. Alternatively,910 and 914 may forward the signal to a plurality of communicationdevices associated with a plurality of persons representing theorganization. Once any one of the plurality of persons responds, theperson and the user may be placed into a communications channel viatheir communications devices. The communications channel may be privatein the sense that the other members of the plurality of personsrepresenting the organization do not hear subsequent communications overthe communications channel. This may be accomplished via the computersystem associated with the second communications device. The subsequentcommunications may all be relayed or forwarded between the user and theperson representing the organization via the second communication deviceand the associated computer system. In one embodiment, the communicationchannel is open to all members of the plurality of persons representingthe organization. In one embodiment, the communication channel is opento a subset group of the plurality of persons representing theorganization. For example, the subset group may be only persons who aredetermined by the computer system to have knowledge regarding the querymade by the user or may only be persons who are determined to beavailable, or persons who have interest in learning more about thesubject, or some combination of these characteristics.

By forwarding the signal to a fourth communication device or a pluralityof other devices, the circle or group of those required or enlisted tohelp the user is enlarged. In other words, the user may send acommunication or query indicating that the user is in need ofassistance. The computer system determines a first person is to assistthe user, but if the first person doesn't respond, the computer systemthen determines a second person or a plurality of persons to assist theuser. Thus the group of those responding to the assistance needincreases. In one embodiment, the initial communication from the firstuser may go to a designated plurality and the first person to respondbecomes established in a private one-on-one conversation with the first(originating) user.

At 916, a response is received from the third communication device atthe computer system. 916 may occur after 910 in an embodiment where 912and 914 do not occur.

At 918, the response is forwarded to the first communication device. 918may occur after 916 in an embodiment where 912 and 914 do not occur.Process 900 may initiate a virtual voice connection between twocommunication devices where the communication is relayed or forwardedvia the computer system and the second communication device. Thus thecomputer system and the second communication device may be described asmediating the communications.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating process 1000 for performingstructured communications in an observation platform in accordance withone embodiment of the present technology. Process 1000 may also bedescribed as disciplining communications in an observation platform. Inone embodiment, process 1000 is a computer implemented method that iscarried out by processors and electrical components under the control ofcomputer usable and computer executable instructions. The computerusable and computer executable instructions reside, for example, in datastorage features such as computer usable volatile and non-volatilememory. However, the computer usable and computer executableinstructions may reside in any type of computer usable storage medium.In one embodiment, process 1000 is performed by the components of FIG.1A, 1B, 1C or 2. In one embodiment, the methods may reside in a computerusable storage medium having instructions embodied therein that whenexecuted cause a computer system to perform the method.

At 1002, a signal is received from a first communication device at asecond communication device associated with a computer system, whereinthe computer system is associated with an organization, wherein a firstcharacteristic of the signal corresponds to an audible source and asecond characteristic of the signal corresponds to informationindicative of a geographic position of the first communication device.Additional characteristics of the signal may include contextualinformation and environmental information. For example, the audiblesource may the voice of a user, the signal characteristics may includesignal signature information and contextual or environmental informationmay include user status (e.g., engaged or on-break) and/or backgroundnoise levels. The organization may be a retail environment, a school, anevent, a military organization, a prison organization, customer service,manufacturing organization, a factory, a disaster response team, or anyenvironment where humans interact with one another to accomplish apurpose. The first communication device may be a handheld device that iscapable of sending and receiving signals and may comprise a display, amicrophone and a speaker. The first communication device may be owned bythe organization and issued to the user or may be the user's personalproperty such as a smart phone executing an application. The secondcommunication device may be a radio base station as described herein.

At 1004, a user is identified as associated with the first communicationdevice at the computer system. The actual identity of the user mayremain anonymous to the computer system or the user may be identified.The user may be identified using one or a combination of severaldifferent techniques.

At 1006, a query is derived from the signal related to the organization,at the computer system. The query may be any number of queries from theuser. The user may ask for general assistance or may ask a more specificquestion such as whether an item is in stock, where an item is located,what sales are taking place, technical details or features regarding anitem.

At 1008, a plurality of persons representing the organization aredetermined to respond to the query, wherein the determining is based ona factor related to the plurality of persons representing theorganization.

At 1010, the signal is forwarded to a plurality of communication devicesassociated with the plurality of persons representing the organization.Such a series of communications may be described as a one-to-manycommunication. The “many” group may be default or predefined group suchas all those associated with a given department or all those who areassociated with a given area of expertise. Groups may also be createdbased on names, locations, availability or status.

At 1012, a response is received from a communication device associatedwith one of the plurality of persons representing the organization atthe second communication device.

At 1014, the response is forwarded from the second communication deviceto the first communication device. Thus the communication may go from aone-to-many to a one-to-one communication.

At 1016, a communication channel is opened between the firstcommunication device and the communication device associated with one ofthe plurality of persons. In other words, the communication from thefirst (originating) user is sent to multiple persons. The first personto respond enters into a communication channel between the firstcommunication device and the communication device associated the person.Others who respond within a pre-determined timeframe are also includedin the “channel.” The communication channel may be mediated by thecomputer system and once all users have entered, may not be overheard bythe other persons from the plurality of persons. The usefulness of thisstructure is that it allows ad-hoc group construction by simplyannouncing the intent of the group, and only those responding are tiedinto the private group “channel”.

In one embodiment, the communication may go from a one-to-many to aone-to-few communication. The persons in the few of the one-to-fewcommunication may be a subset of the many persons from the one-to-many.For example, the initial communication may be sent to all those personsholding communication devices. The computer system may then open acommunication channel between the first person to respond where thechannel is also opened to others person representing the store who areassociated with a specific role or department. Thus only one person maybe actively communicating with the user, but other persons may hear thecommunications and may join at any time. Thus the communication may notdisrupt those who are otherwise not interested.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating process 1100 for sendingnotifications in an observation platform in accordance with oneembodiment of the present technology. Process 1100 may also be describedas disciplining communications in an observation platform. In oneembodiment, process 1100 is a computer implemented method that iscarried out by processors and electrical components under the control ofcomputer usable and computer executable instructions. The computerusable and computer executable instructions reside, for example, in datastorage features such as computer usable volatile and non-volatilememory. However, the computer usable and computer executableinstructions may reside in any type of computer usable storage medium.In one embodiment, process 1100 is performed by the components of FIG.1A, 1B, 1C or 2. In one embodiment, the methods may reside in a computerusable storage medium having instructions embodied therein that whenexecuted cause a computer system to perform the method.

At 1102, a signal is received from a first communication device at asecond communication device associated with a computer system, whereinthe computer system is associated with an organization, wherein a firstcharacteristic of the signal corresponds to information indicative of ageographic position of the first communication device. The organizationmay be a retail environment, a school, an event, a militaryorganization, a prison organization, customer service, manufacturingorganization, a factory, a disaster response team, or any environmentwhere humans interact with one another to accomplish a purpose. Thefirst communication device may be a handheld device that is capable ofsending and receiving signals and may comprise a display, a microphoneand a speaker. The first communication device may be owned by theorganization and issued to the user or may be the user's personalproperty such as a smart phone executing an application. The secondcommunication device may be a radio base station as described herein.

At 1104, a user is identified as associated with the first communicationdevice at the computer system. The actual identity of the user mayremain anonymous to the computer system or the user may be identified.The user may be identified using one or a combination of severaldifferent techniques.

At 1106, a history of activities of the user associated with theorganization is accessed. The history of activities may be a userhistory or user profile that may or may not identify the user. Thehistory may have a list of all the transactions of this user associatedwith the organization. The history may also comprise informationprovided by the user such as likes and dislikes or preferences regardingwhich person the user wishes to be served by while in the organization.The computer may attempt to find the preferential associate(s) andnotify them that the shopper is in the store and where they are located.The associates contacted may hear prior conversations with that shopperto refresh their memory and aid in making the shopper experienceseamless.

At 1108, a geographic location of the first communication device in theorganization is derived at the computer system. For example, thecomputer system may determine that the user is on a given aisle such asthe cereal aisle in a grocery store or in a zone that may correlate to adepartment such as the lumber department in a hardware store.

At 1110, a notification is sent to the first communication devicewherein the notification is based on the history of activity and thegeographic location of the first communication device. For example, thenotification may alert the user of a coupon or special on a given itemin the organization that is for sale. The coupon or special may be foran item that the user previously purchased which knowledge was obtainedby the computer system based on the history of user activity. Thenotification maybe any number of notifications including a text messageor an audible message and the notification may be accompanied by analert such as a vibration or an audible sound. The history of activitymay be utilized to automatically connect communications from the user toa person with whom the user has prior interactions.

At 1112, at least a portion of the history of activities is delivered tothe first communication device. Such information may be used the user todetermine what items the user previously purchased. For example, theuser may wish to purchase the same item again but does not remember theexact details of the item or the user may wish to avoid purchasing thesame item. The user may also use the information to identify a personrepresenting the organization with whom the user wishes to interact withagain. For example, the user may have had a pleasant experience with agiven sales associate and know that sales associate can meet the user'sneeds. In one embodiment, step 1112 is not performed as part of process1100.

Process 1100 may be used in conjunction with a loyalty program involvinglotteries or coupons that may be in existence before the communicationsplatform is implemented in the organization or may be created based onthe communications platform or a combination of the two.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating process 1200 for performingstructured communications in an observation platform in accordance withone embodiment of the present technology. Process 1200 may also bedescribed as disciplining communications in an observation platform. Inone embodiment, process 1200 is a computer implemented method that iscarried out by processors and electrical components under the control ofcomputer usable and computer executable instructions. The computerusable and computer executable instructions reside, for example, in datastorage features such as computer usable volatile and non-volatilememory. However, the computer usable and computer executableinstructions may reside in any type of computer usable storage medium.In one embodiment, process 1200 is performed by the components of FIG.1A, 1B, 1C or 2. In one embodiment, the methods may reside in a computerusable storage medium having instructions embodied therein that whenexecuted cause a computer system to perform the method.

At 1202, a signal is received from a first communication device at asecond communication device associated with a computer system, whereinthe signal comprises a mandatory message for a third communicationdevice. For example, the mandatory message may be a message that isrequired to be delivered to each employee associated with anorganization and an acknowledgement received and recorded. Therequirement may be a legal requirement to notify employees of certaininformation or may be requirement implemented by the organization. Themandatory message may be delivered as an audible message or a textmessage. The mandatory message may also direct a user to a locationwhere more information may be found.

At 1204, the signal is forwarded with the mandatory message to the thirdcommunication device associated with a user such that a receipt of themandatory message at the third communication device will lock featuresof the third communication device until the mandatory message has beenacknowledged by the user. For example, the third communication devicemay be a handheld device and may have features such as the ability tocommunicate with other devices or the ability to connect to otherdevices such as a computer system and may be used to access informationfrom a database. Upon receipt of the mandatory message, some or all ofthe features of the communication device may be locked meaning that theuser not able to access the features. For example, upon receipt of themandatory message the communication device may lock or disable theability to communicate with other devices.

At 1206, an acknowledgement of the mandatory message is received fromthe third communication device at the second communication device. Theacknowledgement may be generated manually by the user of the thirdcommunication device or may be automatically generated. For example,upon receipt of the mandatory message, the third communication devicemay display an option to access the mandatory message. Once the useraccesses the message, the acknowledgement may be sent automatically, oran option may be presented to the user to send the message. In oneembodiment, the user is required to create an acknowledgement message tosend back. The acknowledgement message may be a text or audible messagecreated by the user.

At 1208, the acknowledgement of the mandatory message is forwarded fromthe second communication device to the first communication device. Inone embodiment, the locked features of the third communication devicemay be unlocked in response to the user accessing the mandatory message.In one embodiment, the locked features of the third communication devicemay be unlocked in response the computer system receiving theacknowledgement. In one embodiment, the locked features of the thirdcommunication device may be unlocked in response to the user of thefirst communication device receiving the acknowledgement.

At 1210, the signal with the mandatory message is forwarded to aplurality of communication devices associated with a plurality of userssuch that a receipt of the mandatory message at each of the plurality ofcommunication devices will lock features of each of the plurality ofcommunication devices until the mandatory message has been acknowledgedby each of the plurality of users.

At 1212, a characteristic of the forwarding the signal with themandatory message is tracked. In one embodiment, the system tracks thetime the message was sent, when it was heard by the user, and when andwhere the user was located when they acknowledged. Associated with thestatistical information is a speech file of what the user said. Thisfeature is ideal for communicating policy or liability information andassuring that that information was received and understood. It should beappreciated that there is more than one type or class of mandatorymessages. Each type or class may have different requirements for thedelivery and/or acknowledgement.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating process 1300 for performingstructured communications in an observation platform in accordance withone embodiment of the present technology. Process 1300 may also bedescribed as disciplining communications in an observation platform. Inone embodiment, process 1300 is a computer implemented method that iscarried out by processors and electrical components under the control ofcomputer usable and computer executable instructions. The computerusable and computer executable instructions reside, for example, in datastorage features such as computer usable volatile and non-volatilememory. However, the computer usable and computer executableinstructions may reside in any type of computer usable storage medium.In one embodiment, process 1300 is performed by the components of FIG.1A, 1B, 1C, 1D or 2. In one embodiment, the methods may reside in acomputer usable storage medium having instructions embodied therein thatwhen executed cause a computer system to perform the method.

At 1302, a determination is made, at an observation platform, that afirst communication device associated with a first user is located in anenvironment. The observation platform may be computer 120 and radio basestation 115 of FIG. 1D with device 194 as the first communicationdevice.

At 1304, a determination is made, at the observation platform, that thefirst communication device is located in proximity to a secondcommunication device associated with a second user. The secondcommunication device may be device 195 of FIG. 1D. The user of firstcommunication device may be an associate of a retail environment and theuser of second communication device may be a potential customer. Thesecond communication device may or may not download and install softwareassociated with the observation platform. Additionally, since onefunction of the first device is to detect the proximity of the seconddevice, it may be that the first device is positioned and affixed toknown or specific location within the observation platform.

It should be appreciated that either the first or second communicationdevices may be owned by the user of the device, the environment in whichthe devices are located or a third party entity. The device may or maynot be wearable. The devices may be off the shelf or custom built.

At 1306, speech information is sent to the first communication devicefor the first user to use in communicating with the second user. Thespeech information may be for the associated to make an offer forproducts and/or services to the potential customer. Additionally, speechinformation is used for cueing touch and/or personal communications withsecond users. The appropriate touch may be a customized offer, but alsomay be “inhibited touch”, for example if a shopper has already beenapproached by some other associate lately and does not require furtherassistance.

At 1308, an identification is made, at the observation platform, that auser history of activities between the second communication device andthe environment. The identification may identify the secondcommunication device and/or the actual user of the second communicationdevice.

At 1310, the speech information is tailored based on the secondcommunication device history. This could be to make a special offer tothe potential customer based on the past purchasing habits of thepotential customer.

It should be appreciated that processes 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800,900, 1000, 1100, 1200, and 1300 need not carry out each of the describedsteps to complete its operation. Nor do the steps need to be carried outin the order described. It should be appreciated that processes 300,400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, and 1300, or portionsthereof, may be combined with one another using any number ofcombination. For example, the response from the computer system inprocess 800 may take place in 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, and 1300.

Example Computer System Environment

Portions of the present technology are composed of computer-readable andcomputer-executable instructions that reside, for example, incomputer-usable media of a computer system or other user device.Described below is an example computer system or components that may beused for or in conjunction with aspects of the present technology.

It is appreciated that that the present technology can operate on orwithin a number of different computer systems including general purposenetworked computer systems, embedded computer systems, cloud-basedcomputers, routers, switches, server devices, user devices, variousintermediate devices/artifacts, stand-alone computer systems, mobilephones, personal data assistants, televisions and the like. The computersystem is well adapted to having peripheral computer readable media suchas, for example, a floppy disk, a compact disc, and the like coupledthereto.

The computer system includes an address/data bus for communicatinginformation, and a processor coupled to bus for processing informationand instructions. The computer system is also well suited to amulti-processor or single processor environment and also includes datastorage features such as a computer usable volatile memory, e.g. randomaccess memory (RAM), coupled to bus for storing information andinstructions for processor(s).

The computer system may also include computer usable non-volatilememory, e.g. read only memory (ROM), as well as input devices such as analpha-numeric input device, a mouse, or other commonly used inputdevices. The computer system may also include a display such as liquidcrystal device, cathode ray tube, plasma display, and other outputcomponents such as a printer or other common output devices.

The computer system may also include one or more signal generating andreceiving device(s) coupled with a bus for enabling the system tointerface with other electronic devices and computer systems. Signalgenerating and receiving device(s) of the present embodiment may includewired serial adaptors, modems, and network adaptors, wireless modems,and wireless network adaptors, and other such communication technology.The signal generating and receiving device(s) may work in conjunctionwith one or more communication interface(s) for coupling information toand/or from the computer system. A communication interface may include aserial port, parallel port, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Ethernet port,antenna, or other input/output interface. A communication interface mayphysically, electrically, optically, or wirelessly (e.g. via radiofrequency) couple the computer system with another device, such as acellular telephone, radio, a handheld device, a smartphone, or computersystem.

Although the subject matter is described in a language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of determining and sharing proximity ofdevice users within an environment of an observation platform,comprising: determining, by the observation platform, that a firstcommunication device associated with a first user is in the environmentof the observation platform; detecting, by the observation platform,that the first communication device is in proximity to a secondcommunication device associated with a second user; responsive to thedetection, generating, by the observation platform, proximityinformation for the first user and the second user; and relaying, by theobservation platform, the proximity information to a second observationplatform via a computer network, wherein a second environment of thesecond observation platform is separate from the environment of theobservation platform.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising: storing, by the second observation platform, a history ofthe proximity information of the first user and the second user based onproximity information received from the observation platform.
 3. Themethod as recited in claim 2, further comprising: storing, by the secondobservation platform, an identity of at least one of the first user andthe second user along with the history of the proximity information. 4.The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising: responsive to therelaying, pushing, from the second observation platform via the computernetwork and the observation platform, information to the firstcommunication device for use by the first user in an interaction withthe second user.
 5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein thepushing of information to the first communication device for use by thefirst user in an interaction with the second user comprises: pushing, tothe first communication device, a prior conversation with the seconduser to refresh the first user of a prior conversation.
 6. The method asrecited in claim 4, wherein the pushing of information to the firstcommunication device for use by the first user in an interaction withthe second user comprises: pushing, to the first communication device, anotification.
 7. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the pushingof information to the first communication device for use by the firstuser in an interaction with the second user comprises: pushing, to thefirst communication device, speech information for the first user to usein communicating with the second user, wherein the speech information isaudible to the first user via the first communication device.
 8. Themethod as recited in claim 7, wherein the pushing, to the firstcommunication device, speech information for the first user to use incommunicating with the second user, wherein the speech information isaudible to the first user via the first communication device comprises:pushing, to the first communication device, speech information for thefirst user to use in communicating with the second user, wherein thespeech information is audible to the first user via the firstcommunication device and pertains to an identity of the second user suchthat the first user may recognize the second user.
 9. The method asrecited in claim 7, further comprising: identifying, from the secondobservation platform, a user history of activities between the secondcommunication device and the second environment; and tailoring thespeech information based on the user history of activities.
 10. Themethod as recited in claim 7, wherein the determining, by theobservation platform, that a first communication device associated witha first user is in the environment of the observation platformcomprises: determining, by the observation platform, that the firstcommunication device associated with the first user is in theenvironment of the observation platform, wherein the environment of theobservation platform is a retail environment and the first user is anassociate in the retail environment; and the detecting, by theobservation platform, that the first communication device is inproximity to a second communication device associated with a second usercomprises: detecting, by the observation platform, that the firstcommunication device is in proximity to the second communication deviceassociated with the second user, wherein the second user is a potentialcustomer of the retail environment and the speech information is for thefirst user to make an offer to the second user.
 11. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein the determining, by the observationplatform, that a first communication device associated with a first useris in the environment of the observation platform comprises:determining, by the observation platform, that the first communicationdevice associated with the first user is in the environment of theobservation platform, wherein the environment of the observationplatform is a retail environment and the first user is an associate inthe retail environment; and the detecting, by the observation platform,that the first communication device is in proximity to a secondcommunication device associated with a second user comprises: detecting,by the observation platform, that the first communication device is inproximity to the second communication device associated with the seconduser, wherein the second user is a potential customer of the retailenvironment.
 12. A non-transitory computer-usable storage medium havinginstructions embodied therein that, when executed, cause a computersystem of an observation platform to perform a method of determining andsharing proximity of device users within an environment of theobservation platform, the method comprising: determining that a firstcommunication device associated with a first user is in the environmentof the observation platform; detecting that the first communicationdevice is in proximity to a second communication device associated witha second user; responsive to the detection, generating proximityinformation for the first user and the second user; and relaying theproximity information to a second observation platform via a computernetwork, wherein a second environment of the second observation platformis separate from the environment of the observation platform.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer-usable storage medium as recited in claim 12,wherein the method further comprises: responsive to the relaying,pushing, from the second observation platform via the computer networkand the observation platform, information to the first communicationdevice for use by the first user in an interaction with the second user.14. The non-transitory computer-usable storage medium as recited inclaim 13, wherein the pushing of information to the first communicationdevice for use by the first user in an interaction with the second usercomprises: pushing, to the first communication device, a priorconversation with the second user to refresh the first user of a priorconversation.
 15. An observation platform associated with anenvironment, the observation platform comprising: a radio forcommunicating with a first communication device associated with a firstuser; and a computer system coupled with the radio and configured to:determine that a first communication device associated with a first useris in the environment of the observation platform; detect that the firstcommunication device is in proximity to a second communication deviceassociated with a second user; responsive to the detection, generateproximity information for the first user and the second user; and relaythe proximity information to a second observation platform via acomputer network, wherein a second environment of the second observationplatform is separate from the environment of the observation platform.16. The observation platform of claim 15, wherein the secondcommunication device is owned by the second user.
 17. The observationplatform of claim 15, wherein the second communication device is ownedby an entity associated with the environment and issued to the seconduser within the environment.
 18. The observation platform of claim 15,wherein the second communication device is required to install asoftware app for use in the environment.
 19. The observation platform ofclaim 15, wherein the second communication device is not required toinstall a software app for use in the environment.
 20. The observationplatform of claim 15, wherein the environment of the observationplatform is a retail environment, the first user is an associate in theretail environment, and the second user is a potential customer of theretail environment.
 21. The observation platform of claim 15, whereinthe computer system is further configured to: responsive to the relay,receive information pushed from the second observation platform via thecomputer network; and provide the information to the first communicationdevice for use by the first user in an interaction with the second user.22. The observation platform of claim 21, wherein the informationreceived from the second observation platform comprises: a priorconversation with the second user to refresh the first user of a priorconversation.
 23. The observation platform of claim 21, wherein theinformation received from the second observation platform comprises: anotification.
 24. The observation platform of claim 21, wherein theinformation received from the second observation platform comprises:speech information for the first user to use in communicating with thesecond user, wherein the speech information is audible to the first uservia the first communication device.
 25. The observation platform ofclaim 24, wherein the speech information comprises: an identity of thesecond user such that the first user may recognize the second user.